Good morning!!!!

[RedNeckGeek]

RNK
For off grid, LiFePo4 batteries are likely the prime choice, but expensive, especially if you need capacity. There are also environmental considerations and I don’t know how they would play in your situation. What might be of interest are the nano carbon variety of flooded acid batteries, seem to have more cycle than traditional FLA.

Thanks, David. The electrical contractor seemed to be really hyped about lithium batteries, but he didn't specify which chemistry. Looking at the offerings in the automotive and motorcycle markets, the prices are prohibitive even with the deeper depth of discharge they allow. Since battery technology is evolving so rapidly, it may make sense to buy this first set with a well proven and less expensive technology and give things some time to mature.

Thinking out loud here, 600 kWh/month would cover my electrical usage for all but the four warmest summer months. That's about 20 kWh/day. I get about 6 hours of peak sunlight/day. I need to sharpen my pencil and make some measurements to get a better handle on my electricity usage outside of those peak sun hours before I can get a clear idea on array and battery size. But I'm not aiming for a stand alone system like yours, and still want to have a grid connection. My main concern is to have a constant supply of electricity, especially through the start of power interruptions. PG&E threatened every day for the week before the Camp Fire that they would cut power if humidity and wind conditions got bad enough, then they didn't and look what happened. I want to avoid losing power to my computers, modem, and routers so as not to have them resetting and potentially not coming back on line, and it shouldn't take much of a battery pack to do that. With more battery, I can offset more evening loads, and with even more battery, I can time shift grid use, selling array power back to the utility during high demand hours while using grid power for off peak loads and battery charging. And if the grid goes down, I don't need to run big loads like the A/C and irrigation pumps. Lots to think about...

 

[RoyJackson]

2019-02-11, 0318

14 degrees right now...high in the mid-20's.

 

[sodamo]

While it appears much of the state has been slammed by this storm, even snow, we has so far had a great day. Even got some 2x6’s painted.

 

[Looking4new]

1°F and going to a high of 14°F. Wind NE 13 mph. Sunny.
We are under a 'winter storm watch'. Up to 35cm/12+". Time will tell. It is supposed to start snowing Tuesday and continue through Wednesday.

Town run today, then conserve energy till tomorrow morning.

Have a good day all

 

[Eric Salop]

RNG Another way to store your solar energy would be if you made that emergency water tank for fire fighting a little larger and when no one is looking, sneak in a pipe down to the dam below. Solar power can then pump water up to the tank when the sun shines. At night you let it down again through the pump which runs as a turbine generator.

You wouldn't be steeling public water - just borrowing it for a few hours

 

[Eric Salop]

Good morning. With lighter cloud cover it is noticeably lighter this morning than it has been for quite a while. Now we are getting towards mid-February, the extending daylight time in the late afternoon is particularly welcome.

If anyone would like to compare how much daylight we each enjoy, this website is a good place to find out The Time and Place

Where I live in Whitchurch, England, it shows

Subtracting sunrise from sunset (which no doubt some can eaisly do in their head - I cheated and used Time Calculator ) gives me 9 hours and 40 minutes of good daylight today.

I expect there will be quite a few reading Good Morning who have more light (way more, if you live in the southern hemisphere) and some who have less, although northern dwellers get extra light from all that bright snow

 

[Buppies]

31 high of 40 today nice coat of ice this morning but not enough to interrupt power tractor still sleeps

Prayers for all in need

 

[mpham]

21 going to 30 today. Not as windy as the last few days. Looks like 5 inches of snow coming for tomorrow afternoon into Wednesday. Should be cold enough to be light and fluffy. Tractor time!

 

[Thomas]

14F now low 20's for high.

After work attach plow to pickup fill deer feeder to top anything else needs look at before storm arrives Tuesday.
E- muffin feed little critters slow roll to work.

Enjoy the day all.

 

[wngsprd]

35 going to 39 and raining. Local weatherman is already calling for snow next Monday and Tuesday. We'll see.

Eric, I never knew there were 3 types of twilight although I do notice different stages. The longer days have been welcomed.

Need to clean, wash and vacuum today. Wife coming home after 3 weeks taking care of her parents. I hate our vacuum cleaner so much I actually bought one of those cordless Dyson models at Costco last week. It's pretty slick, and hangs on the laundry room wall when charging. RNG, didn't you try out one of those robot ones?

Cut some firewood yesterday, so got some tractor time.